The Kenya Ports authority (KPA) is planning to introduce the smart gate technology payment system at the Likoni ferry crossing channel.
There will also be four lanes to approach the ramps.
Drivers will be required to have a card that they will load (with) money, allowing them to use the ferry service without stopping along to pay with cash.
The process flow of making ferry toll charges session begins when a user requests a USSD code from their mobile phone.
As soon as the initial request is sent, the USSD gateway sends it on to a USSD application. The application calculates a response to the request and sends it back to the gateway, which prompts the motorists to the category charges of the vehicle and receives a message on their mobile phone screen.
According to the authority this will help in improving services at the ferry hence do away with the traffic usually experienced at the channel.
KPA is currently holding a stakeholders meeting to discuss the planned changes. among the partners attending the meeting are as the Kenya transport association (KTA), Kenya national chamber of commerce, Matatu welfare association, Kenya tour operators’ association, and other key business communities.
The Kenya ferry services (KFS) was dissolved in 2020 with KPA taking over its operations.
Before KFS was set up, ferry services used to be under KPA, which took them from the Kenya Bus Services, which ran the services until 1989 when it decided to pull out.
